Happy Wednesday. Here’s what we’ve got today…

• A look at today’s Fed decision

• Plus, sponsors prepare to submit bids for Bausch + Lomb

Rates cut:

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates today by an unusually large half-percentage point to around 4.9 percent. Fed officials also predicted another similarly-sized cut by the end of the year, which is a more aggressive schedule than expectations set at their last meeting in June. By the end of 2025, they expect another full percentage point drop to around 3.4 percent.

The 3-month SOFR forward curve is now below 4.2 percent by year-end and below 2.9 percent by the end of 2025.

The headline reaction for private markets is a welcome reduction in borrowing costs, both for new deals and relief for existing portfolio companies whose debt service obligations have stretched cash flow — since 2022, debt financing costs have jumped to an average of around 10 percent from a cycle-low of 5 percent, according to data from Pitchbook/LCD.

But, the decisiveness of today's Fed response means there's reason to be cautious. The half-point cut could be interpreted as a warning sign that fears of economic weakness are becoming more pronounced. Fed commentary on today’s decision included its view that “The economic outlook is uncertain.”

Chairman Powell delivered his own remarks that slightly backtracked this sentiment, walking a tricky line to dissuade investors from reading too much into potential worries over worsening conditions. “There is thinking that the time to support the labor market is when it’s strong, and not when you begin to see the layoffs,” he said, noting that initial unemployment claims remain largely flat.

The Fed's ‘dot plot’ confirms more rate cuts are coming but reveals some level of disagreement on how quickly and how far those cuts will be. Nine of the central bank’s 19 officials expect rates to end the year at about 4.4 percent, which suggests a pair of quarter-point cuts in each of the Fed's two remaining meetings.

But seven policymakers expect just one more cut this year, and two officials expect none.

Most Fed officials expect interest rates to eventually settle between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent, which is higher than at any point during the post-financial crisis decade.

Powell seems to think that the age of ultralow rates has gone for good: “We’re probably not going back to that era where there are trillions of dollars of sovereign bonds being issued at negative rates,” he said. “My own sense is that we’re not going back to that.”

Investors’ rate cut anticipation has been ramping up as the year has progressed, and some firms have already pointed toward those expectations as a catalyst.

Earlier this summer, Blackstone President Jonathan Gray told the Financial Times that the firm has seen clear signs of waning inflation across the portfolio and noted confidence in near-term Fed moves: "The Fed has and will have air cover to cut rates."

That expectation played a part in Blackstone's most active quarter since 2022, with $33.7 billion in deployments and another $19.1 billion allocated to new investments. Gray said the uptick in activity was motivated by rate expectations and allowed the firm to get a jump on dealmaking because of its "decision to invest before the all-clear sign, prior to the Fed cutting rates."

• Sponsors including Blackstone, Advent, TPG, KKR, CVC, and H&F are among those considering bids for eyecare company Bausch + Lomb, which is being spun-out from its parent company Bausch Health.

• Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) has hired Macquarie Capital and Houlihan Lokey to lead a stake-sale process for Wavenet, a UK cybersecurity and IT services provider, which could be valued at north of £1.2 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Princeton Digital Group, a Warburg Pincus-backed data center operator, is considering a private fundraising round to raise as much as $1 billion.

• Trancom, a Japanese logistics provider, announced plans for a management buyout sponsored by Bain Capital at a valuation of around $706 million.

• PJT Partners agreed to acquire Dubai-based investment banking boutique deNovo Partners, per the FT.

• Sixth Street agreed to acquire CALA Group, a UK-based homebuilder, for £1.35 billion from Legal & General (LSE: LGEN).

• BC Partners and Saudi PIF-owned SURJ Sports Investment are among bidders considering offers for a minority stake in EuroLeague Basketball at a €1 billion valuation, per the FT.

• EverBank Financial Corp., backed by Stone Point Capital, Warburg Pincus, Reverence Capital Partners, Sixth Street, and Bayview Asset Management, agreed to acquire Sterling Bank and Trust for $261 million in cash.

• Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR) agreed to acquire Snaitech, an Italian online and retail gambling business, for €2.3 billion from Playtech (LSE: PTEC).

• BC Partners is preparing to sell Synthon, a Dutch small-molecule generics business, per FN.

• Steve Pagliuca is in talks to acquire Red Star FC, a Paris-based soccer club currently owned by 777 Partners, through his family office PagsGroup.

• Guardian Pharmacy Services, an Atlanta-based long-term care pharmacy backed by Cardinal Equity Partners and Bindley Capital Partners, set terms for its NYSE IPO to raise up to $108 million at valuation of up to $974 million.

• SubjectWell, backed by WindRose Health Investors, acquired Trials24, a clinical trials patient recruitment company.

• Platinum Equity and Butterfly jointly acquired Rise Baking Company, a Minneapolis-based supplier of foodservice bakery products, from Olympus Partners.

• Genstar Capital agreed to acquire a majority stake in Flourish Research, a multi-site clinical trial organization, from NMS Capital.

• Carlyle Group acquired a minority stake in North Bridge ESG, a provider of commercial property-assessed clean energy financing.

• Agellus Capital recapitalized BlackPoint IT Services, a provider of managed IT and cybersecurity services for SMEs in the Pacific Northwest.

• Eastern Metal Supply, a Wynnchurch Capital portfolio company, acquired Aluminum Products Wholesale, a Jacksonville-based distributor of aluminum extrusions for patio enclosures.

• Gearset, backed by Silversmith Capital Partners, acquired Clayton, a Salesforce-specific code analysis platform.

• Achilles Information, backed by Bridgepoint Development Capital, agreed to acquire GoSupply, a Spain-based supply chain management company.

• Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire a 20 percent stake in BP’s Caspian-region natural gas pipeline for around $1 billion.

• Freeman Spogli acquired a majority stake in VIO Med Spa, a provider of medical spa services.

• Luminate Capital Partners acquired AbsenceSoft, a SaaS platform for leave of absence and accommodations management, from Norwest Venture Partners and Bow River Capital.

• Standish Management acquired CORE-CCO Services, a private funds specialty compliance firm.

• Heartwood Partners acquired Royal Products, a manufacturer and distributor of precision machine tool performance accessories.

• Carlyle (Nasdaq: CG) invested in Unison, a San Francisco-based provider of home equity sharing agreements, and agreed to purchase up to $300 million of its home loans.

• Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), a portfolio company of Solace Capital Partners, acquired a majority stake in marketing and communications firm DKC.

• Easy Metrics, backed by Nexa Equity, acquired TZA, a labor management system provider based in Naples, Florida serving over 300 facilities.

• Workday (Nasdaq: WDAY) agreed to acquire Evisort, an AI-powered contract lifecycle management platform.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Engine (formerly Hotel Engine), a Denver-based business travel platform, raised $140 million in Series C funding led by Permira Growth at a $2.1 billion valuation.

• Mangomint, a salon and spa software platform, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Altos Ventures, with participation from SaaStr Fund and OpenView Venture Partners.

• Intezer, an autonomous security operations platform, raised $33 million in Series C funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from Intel Capital, OpenView, and Magma.

• Cherre, a real estate data management and intelligence platform, raised $30 million in Series C funding led by HighSage Ventures, with participation from Nuveen Real Estate, RXR, TA Realty, Trustbridge Partners, Glilot Capital Partners, Intel Capital, and Carthona Capital.

• Every, an all-in-one back office platform for tech founders, raised $22.5 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Okta Ventures, and Base10 Partners.

• Roots Automation, an insurance automation platform, raised $22.2 million in Series B funding led by Harbert Growth Partners, with participation from MissionOG, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, and Vestigo Ventures.

• BlackCloak, a digital executive protection startup, raised $17 million in Series B funding led by Baird Capital, with participation from Blue Heron Capital, TDF Ventures, and TechOperators.

• DeltaStream, a serverless stream processing platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding from NEA, Galaxy Interactive, and Sanabil Investments.

• Supermaven, an AI-powered code completion tool, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from OpenAI and Perplexity.

• Knit, a consumer research automation platform, raised $9 million in seed funding led by Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, with participation from Osage Venture Partners, GFT Ventures, Visible Ventures, Massive Ventures, Silicon Road Ventures, Felton Group, and Alumni Ventures.

Fintech

• Wealth.com, an estate planning platform, raised $30 million in Series A funding led by GV, with participation from Citi Ventures, Outpost Ventures, 53 Stations, and Firebolt Ventures.

• Orb, a billing platform for software companies, raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Mayfield, with participation from Menlo Ventures, Greylock Partners, South Park Commons, Basecase, Scribble Ventures, and Uncorrelated Ventures.

• Ledgebrook, an insurtech MGA, raised $17 million in Series B funding led by Duquesne Family Office and The Stephens Group, with participation from Brand Foundry Ventures and American Family Ventures.

• TrueX, a non-custodial, stablecoin-native exchange, raised $9 million in seed funding from RRE Ventures, Reciprocal Ventures, Paxos, Accomplice Blockchain, Hack VC, Solana Foundation, and Aptos.

• Zevero, a carbon accounting platform, raised $7 million in seed funding led by Spiral Capital, with participation from East Ventures.

Consumer & Media

• Flink, a Berlin-based quick-commerce startup, raised $150 million in new funding from BOND, Mubadala, Northzone, and REWE, including $35 million in debt financing.

• Mindtrip, an AI-powered trip planning and booking platform, raised $12 million in new funding led by Costanoa Ventures and Forerunner Ventures.

• Two Boxes, a returns management solution for brands and 3PLs, raised $5.3 million in new funding led by Peterson Ventures, with participation from Assembly Ventures, Vinyl, Range Ventures, and Matchstick Ventures.

• Reform RX, a Belfast-based developer of connected Pilates equipment, raised $5.1 million in funding led by Clarendon Fund Managers, with participation from Zacua Ventures, Argonautic, Great Wave, and Hamilton Ventures.

Healthcare

• Bain Capital Life Sciences led a growth investment of more than $200 million in Serán Bioscience, a contract development and manufacturing organization providing drug delivery and manufacturing solutions.

• Nura Bio, a clinical-stage biotech developing neuroprotective therapies, raised $68 million in Series A funding led by The Column Group, with participation from Samsara Bio Capital, Euclidean Capital, and Sanofi Ventures.

• Neo Medical, a Swiss AR spine surgery company, raised $68 million in Series B funding led by Gyrus Capital, with participation from Swisscom Ventures, Verve Ventures, 4FO, and Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital.

• Nomic Bio, a protein profiling startup, raised $42 million in Series B funding from Amplitude Ventures, AVANT BIO, Lux Capital, Real Ventures, and SR One.

• Brenus Pharma, a French biotech developing cancer vaccines, raised €22.2 million in Series A funding led by Angelor, with participation from UI Investissement, Crédit Agricole Centre-France, Crédit Agricole Centre-Est, Noshaq, and Investsud.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Pairwise, a developer of gene editing tech for plant breeding, raised $40 million in Series C funding led by Deerfield Management, with participation from Aliment Capital, Leaps by Bayer, and Corteva Catalyst.

• Battolyser Systems, a Dutch manufacturer of integrated battery-electrolyser systems, raised €30 million in Series A funding from Global Cleantech Capital, Innovation Industries, and Invest-NL.

• Nomad Solar Energy, a Spanish manufacturer of mobile off-grid solar generators, raised €15 million in Series A funding from Tilt Capital Partners.

• Hgen, a clean hydrogen production startup, raised $5 million in seed funding led by Seven Seven Six, with participation from Founders Fund and Fontinalis Partners.

• Microsoft, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, and MGX launched the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership, a fund to invest in data centers and energy infrastructure for AI, with plans to raise up to $30 billion.

• Headline raised $865 million for its latest growth-stage fund.

• Thompson Street Capital Partners raised a single-asset continuation fund, co-led by Hamilton Lane and StepStone, for analytics platform Gurobi Optimization.

• Moderne Ventures, a Chicago-based venture and growth investor, raised more than $230 million for its third fund.

• Dragonfly Capital is raising $500 million for its fourth fund focused on early-stage crypto and blockchain projects, per Bloomberg.

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